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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/28091274">Ilex Aquifolium</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/bandwidthlimit/pseuds/bandwidthlimit'>bandwidthlimit</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Rizzoli &amp; Isles</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Christmas Fluff, F/F, Family Fluff, Mistletoe, New Year's Eve, Post-Canon</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-12-15</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-12-15</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-10 20:07:25</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>4,668</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/28091274</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/bandwidthlimit/pseuds/bandwidthlimit</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Angela just wants them to be happy. So, maybe she's a little heavy handed.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Maura Isles/Jane Rizzoli</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>7</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>128</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Ilex Aquifolium</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><ul class="associations">


        <li>
            Inspired by

            <a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/21894079">Rizzles New Year</a> by <a href="https://archiveofourown.org/users/FaBbEr0oZ/pseuds/FaBbEr0oZ">FaBbEr0oZ</a>.
        </li>

    </ul><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>A prompt fill, almost, from FaBbEr0oZ.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Early morning light filtered through the curtains that Jane distantly recognized as ‘not hers.’ The longer she lay with her eyes closed, the more she recognized around her. The pillow under her cheek was sinfully comfortable, as was the mattress underneath her and the blanket wrapped snugly around her…</p><p> </p><p>It came back to her slowly. First, she remembered the long drive from Virginia, and then the all encompassing feeling of being <em>home</em>. She’d been existing purely on coffee, having left her apartment before dawn the day before. Her efforts to get ahead of the holiday traffic didn’t pay off, and she was stuck in the long slog with hundreds of other holiday travelers, which had delayed her arrival to Maura’s by hours.</p><p> </p><p>Jane smiled and pressed her face into the pillow beneath her. Maura had greeted her at the door with a harried expression and a conspiratorial whisper of, “Your <em>mother</em>!” </p><p> </p><p>Even now, in the early light of the next day, Jane laughed. True to form, Angela was going to give Maura a genuine Rizzoli Christmas, which often included the earnest wish from all of it’s participants that it could just be <em>over</em> already.</p><p> </p><p>She peeked at the clock next to the bed. Six thirty. Too early to storm the living room for coffee, but late enough that Maura was likely already awake.</p><p> </p><p>The thought was enough to convince her to swing her legs out of bed, and the moment her toes touched the plush carpet, she realized how cold she was. She pulled the throw blanket from the foot of the bed, put there in purely Maura fashion, and certainly not for function. Tugging it tight around her shoulders, she shuffled out into the hallway, reminded strongly of Christmas mornings from her childhood.</p><p> </p><p>The thought brought a brief burst of warmth and a smile to her face. She remembered numerous Christmases where she would crack open her bedroom door only to hear her mother shriek from the living room, “Not yet!” and then a desperate rustle of stockings and stockings contents as her parents hurried to get everything just right. </p><p> </p><p>Now, the hallway was dark, and downstairs she knew everything was laid out per her mother’s exacting specifications. They wouldn’t start until Tommy and TJ made their way down the street, and would likely have to wait even longer for Frankie and Nina to arrive. She could already imagine TJ’s plaintive whine and Tommy’s look of exhausted exasperation. They were probably already awake.</p><p> </p><p>She stopped in front of Maura’s closed door and briefly contemplated knocking. They had made a concerted effort not to grow apart despite the physical distance between them. Jane was sure her data usage had at least doubled since she’d settled in Virginia, and the only thing she found she would change about the situation would be to bring her job back to Boston. </p><p> </p><p>Who knew, maybe in a few years…</p><p> </p><p>The door swung open under her hand, and Jane was surprised to see the room still bathed in darkness, curtains shut against the early morning light. She tugged her blanket a little tighter around her shoulders and approached the bed, where she could see the outline of Maura under the covers. Within arms reach of the bed, Maura jerked upright, a gasp caught in her throat.</p><p> </p><p>“Jane!” There was a combination of shock and relief in her voice, and Maura immediately dropped back onto the bed, “What time is it?”</p><p> </p><p>Jane shrugged, inviting herself to sit next to Maura, her back pressed into Maura’s side. “Six something. Almost seven, probably.”</p><p> </p><p>A groan from the darkness, and Maura turned onto her side, wrapping herself around Jane. “Too early,” she mumbled, tucking herself impossibly closer.</p><p> </p><p>“What do you mean, ‘too early’? It’s Christmas!”</p><p> </p><p>“Mmph.” Maura didn’t move, and Jane squinted through the darkness to see that her eyes were closed again. A moment later, she felt a tug on the back of her shirt. Maura blearily opened one eye and pulled again, “Lie down, Jane.”</p><p> </p><p>Opening her mouth to protest, Maura shut her eye and delivered the killing blow;</p><p> </p><p>“Please, Jane.”</p><p> </p><p>All the air in her lungs left her in a deep whoosh. Jane found herself clambering over Maura’s legs, all elbows and awkward limbs as she tried to maneuver to get under the heavy comforter. The first thing she noticed was heat, and she settled into it with a grateful sigh. Almost immediately, Maura scooted herself back until she was a hair's breadth away from pressing her body against Jane’s.</p><p> </p><p>The air that Jane had managed to suck back into her lungs was gone again in a second.</p><p> </p><p>Tentatively, like they hadn’t shared a bed five thousand times before, Jane reached out and let her arm drape over the curve of Maura’s side. Maura let out a contented noise, clearly on her way back to sleep, and Jane stared hard at the back of her head for what felt like an eternity before Maura’s shared heat and comfortable bed drug her back down into a reluctant doze.</p><p> </p><p>It was summarily ruined less than an hour later when she heard loud voices and footsteps stomping up the stairs. Her nose was buried deep in Maura’s hair, and somewhere in her sleep she had pulled Maura tight against her. </p><p> </p><p>Maura, for her part, didn’t seem to mind. She started to stretch, extending her legs out and her arms above her head just as the bedroom door slammed open.</p><p> </p><p>“Oh!” Tommy shot an arm out and barely managed to stop TJ’s reckless charge into the room. </p><p> </p><p>“Ugh!” Jane rolled away from Maura like she was on fire and threw an arm over her eyes, pretending so hard she almost believed it herself that the light from the hallway was unbearably bright.</p><p> </p><p>In reality, she did not want to see the look on Maura’s (or Tommy’s) face when they individually realized how tightly pressed against Maura she had been.</p><p> </p><p>“Ma says it’s time to get up,” Tommy mumbled, pulling TJ back out of the room. “Uh, I’ll start coffee.”</p><p> </p><p>Jane groaned her response, but Maura gave Tommy a comforting smile and a thank you. Jane didn’t pull her arm off of her eyes until she heard the door latch closed again. She peaked at Maura, who was now sitting on the bed like they had never been twined around each other. </p><p> </p><p>A shout of her name from downstairs jerked her out of her reverie, and Jane reluctantly got out of bed. It wouldn’t do to have to explain to her mother why she had been in Maura’s bed to start with. Right now, she was fairly certain she could blow off whatever Tommy had thought he’d seen. More likely, Tommy would try to bleach his own memory of it anyway.</p><p> </p><p>“Merry Christmas, Jane,” Maura smiled at her from the door to her bathroom, and Jane felt her stomach flip. She managed a small smile back.</p><p> </p><p>“Merry Christmas, Maur. I’ll, uh - I’ll see you downstairs.”</p><p> </p><p>Absence made the heart grow fonder, right? That's what it had to be - there was no way there was any other explanation for what she was feeling. Absence, and Christmas. It was a full blown recipe for butterflies in the stomach and hearts that seemed to swell when Maura smiled.</p><p> </p><p>That was her story, and she was sticking to it.</p><p> </p><p>When she made it downstairs, true to his word, Tommy had coffee ready, and her mother was buzzing around the stockings, making sure everything was picture perfect. Overhead, she could hear Maura’s soft footfalls as she moved about, preparing for the day. TJ was already seated at the counter, snacking on a breakfast Jane just knew Maura would have something to say about.</p><p> </p><p>“Daddy, can I have the other Poptart?”</p><p> </p><p>Tommy glanced conspiratorially at Jane, then at their mother, and gave TJ a quick nod. The little boy's face lit up in joy and he quickly reached for the packet before anyone could change their minds. </p><p> </p><p>The morning passed in a flash of silent looks and flying wrapping paper. Jane noticed a sense of expectation in the room every time she or Maura got up and felt the constant itch of eyes on her, but whenever she looked up, no one was looking. By the time the dishes were being cleared from the table, Jane had a pleasant buzz (“It’s not Christmas morning without mimosas, Janie! Do you know how long I’ve been waiting for you kids to be old enough for this?”), and an unpleasant feeling of dread.</p><p> </p><p>Why was everyone looking at her? Why did everyone seem to hold their breath when she and Maura were up at the same time? </p><p> </p><p>What had Tommy said to their mother that was causing her to look at Jane with an Emmy worthy smile of motherly hospitality?</p><p> </p><p>Suspicious. </p><p> </p><p>She narrowed her eyes at Angela from across the room, trying to convey an, ‘I’m onto you!’ without a single word. </p><p> </p><p>Angela’s smile only grew impossibly wider. </p><p> </p><p>This was not good.</p><p> </p><p>“Hey, Tommy.” Jane practically growled at her brother, who immediately stopped in his tracks, dirty dishes in hand. “Can I talk to you for a minute?”</p><p> </p><p>Tommy’s eyes widened comically, and Jane didn’t miss the quick glance he shot across the room toward Angela. “Uh, s-sure, Janie. Just… gimme a minute.” His eyes found Frankie, who was getting up for another round of pastries, and shoved the plates toward him. “Here!”</p><p> </p><p>“Hey!” Frankie stepped back, hands up and away from the sticky plates, “What did I do to get stuck on dish duty?”</p><p> </p><p>“You ate, didn’t you? Are your hands broken, Frankie?” Angela piped up from across the room, and Frankie’s hands dropped to his sides.</p><p> </p><p>“No, Ma,” he groaned, at the same time, Tommy muttered, “maybe they need to be.”</p><p> </p><p>Frankie snatched the plates from Tommy none too gently and glared at him on the way by. “Thanks a lot. See if I forget this next time you try to snake out of doing the dishes.”</p><p> </p><p>Tommy rolled his eyes, and opened his mouth to continue the argument, but Jane grabbed him by the elbow and hauled him away before he could get the words out. She stopped them in the doorway to the hall. Behind them in the living room, she heard her mother's voice berating Frankie for being rude, and on Christmas, too!</p><p> </p><p>“What’s up?” Tommy fidgeted in front of her, looking at anything except her face. </p><p> </p><p>“What did you say to Ma?” </p><p> </p><p>“Nothing! I swear, I just told her you’d be down in a few minutes, not anything else.”</p><p> </p><p>“Then why is she grinning like the cheshire cat, Tommy?” Jane narrowed her eyes at him, and Tommy took half a step back out of the doorway.</p><p> </p><p>“I swear, I don’t know. I had nothing to do with this.”</p><p> </p><p>“Nothing to do with what?” Maura asked from over Jane’s shoulder. She had been out of the room, taking a phone call from her parents.</p><p> </p><p>Tommy pointed a guilty finger up, and both Jane and Maura looked up to see a jolly green plant above them. Jane felt her mouth drop open, and started to turn with wild eyes toward Tommy to exact her sisterly revenge. As soon as she started to move, a voice from across the room cut her off. </p><p> </p><p>“Where are you going, Janie? That’s mistletoe! And look, you’re under it with Maura. Guess you know what that means.” A wide grin, an innocent shrug.</p><p> </p><p>An act of such bullshit Jane had to grit her teeth. She felt her nails dig deep into her palms and turned back to Maura, who looked completely unperturbed.</p><p> </p><p>“I hate to correct you,” Maura said easily, “But that is not mistletoe. It’s actually holly, or <em>ilex aquifolium</em>. It’s a common mistake to put holly up in place of mistletoe, but this particular plant carries no doorway tradition to speak of.” The doctor smiled enigmatically at Angela, and Jane felt an urge to kiss her that had not a damn thing to do with mistletoe.</p><p> </p><p>Or holly. </p><p> </p><p>Whatever.</p><p> </p><p>Her mood darkened again as she recognized the set of her ma’s shoulders, the stubbornness that was emanating from her displeased expression. Whatever Ma was playing at, there was no getting out of it. </p><p> </p><p>“Just… ugh,” Jane reached for Maura and tugged her closer, whispering as she leant in, “She’s never gonna let it go, just… c’mere,” and gave her a very loud, very obnoxious kiss on the cheek. She heard Maura give an embarrassed laugh, and took an extra second to enjoy the feel of Maura’s skin against her lips. </p><p> </p><p>The guilt was immediate, and Jane pulled back sheepishly. “Sorry,” she said softly, and missed the calculating look on her mother's face.</p><p> </p><p>Maura didn’t. She offered Jane a soft smile, a soft squeeze on the arm, and stepped away. </p><p> </p><p>The next six days passed in something of a blur. Jane remembered saying a lot of, “Ma, what the hell?” and her mother looking not even one ounce contrite. </p><p> </p><p>It left Jane too much time to think, something she had been studiously avoiding for months. It wasn’t lost on her that she had missed Maura far more than anyone else she had left behind in Boston. It wasn’t lost on her, either, that coming to Maura’s had felt more like coming home than anywhere else ever had. After nearly a week of being in her company, Jane was dreading going back to Virginia. </p><p> </p><p>By New Years Eve, Jane had grown thoroughly tired of her mother’s meddling. If it weren’t mistletoe - or holly, whatever - it was pointing out how <em>pretty</em> Maura looked today, and wasn’t that color so complementary on the doctor? And look, Janie, look at how happy Frankie and Nina are, I just want that for you, aren’t you so lonely all the way out there in Virginia?</p><p> </p><p>She was ready to pull her hair out.</p><p> </p><p>When Maura suggested she make the run to the liquor store alone, Jane jumped at the chance. She even grudgingly took the keys to the Prius - “The Mercedes is in the shop, Jane. It’ll be fine!” - and folded herself into the clown car to make the trip. Unsurprisingly, it was not fine. The midget car slipped and slid all over the icey Boston streets and Jane barely managed to skid it into a parking spot without smashing the passenger side into the berm of snow next to it. </p><p> </p><p>She cursed that stupid car all the way into the store, rubbing her hands together to get even a little bit of warmth into them.</p><p> </p><p>The old man behind the counter chuckled at her as she passed, and she cast a sharp eyed glare at him. He just smiled genially. “I always get that same look on my face when I have to drive my old lady’s car. I hate that fuckin’ thing, but she loves it.”</p><p> </p><p>A year ago, the comment would have made her bristle and storm out of the store. But now… Jane managed a smile that she didn’t one hundred percent feel and shrugged at him. “It’d help if she’d put some decent tires on it. I’ve been telling her for years that car isn’t worth the gas she puts in it.”</p><p> </p><p>“Not that it takes much anyway,” he joked back.</p><p> </p><p>Jane felt her smile soften inexplicably. “Yeah. Guess not. Hey, you got any eggnog left?”</p><p> </p><p>“Back cooler. I’ll give you ten percent off if you get the rest of that crap out of here.”</p><p> </p><p>“Fifteen and you got a deal.”</p><p> </p><p>“Hard bargain.” The man grinned, “It’s yours. Did me a favor, lady. That stuff would sit til February.”</p><p> </p><p>Jane laughed as she hauled all five half gallons to the counter, “It still might. My Ma will complain about this til next year.” The thought filled her with sudden joy. </p><p> </p><p>She made sure to grab a few bottles of the fancy wine she knew Maura liked, along with a few of the six packs she knew she and her brothers would burn through. Thanks to the ice, it took her three trips in and out of the store to get everything into the backseat of the Prius, and with a much more cheerful goodbye to the cashier than she’d greeted him with, Jane started the treacherous drive home.</p><p> </p><p>If she slid on a patch of black ice because she was impatient, that was between her and the road. </p><p> </p><p>“What did you do?” Maura’s whisper was somewhere between horrified and awed as she helped Jane unload the bags into the house. Jane answered her with a wolfish grin and a whispered just wait.</p><p> </p><p>Sure enough, when her mother made her way into the kitchen, she let out an anguished wail at the sight of four and a half gallons of Darigold eggnog on the counter. “Janie, what’s all this?” </p><p> </p><p>“It’s eggnog, Ma.” Jane blinked innocently, trying to force her expression into one of concern. </p><p> </p><p>“But <em>why</em>, Jane?”</p><p> </p><p>“Because you like eggnog, Ma!” Jane bit back her smile, and next to her, Maura started to shift uncomfortably.</p><p> </p><p>“For Christmas, Janie! I like eggnog for <em>Christmas</em>!”</p><p> </p><p>Jane was grinning widely now, her one step plan to irritate her mother in return for the holly executed to perfection. Maura practically writhed with second hand contrition. “It’s still Christmas,” she gestured vaguely to the Christmas decorations that hadn’t been taken down yet.</p><p> </p><p>“<em>A week ago, Jane!</em>” Angela’s voice had reached almost a shriek, and Jane was loving it. </p><p> </p><p>Thin fingers worked their way into Jane’s hand, hidden from view by the tall counter. Maura squeezed Jane’s hand tight, finding her voice with barely a tremor. Jane hid her surprise by returning Maura’s squeeze, keeping their hands clasped together. “Jane is just teasing you, Angela. We’ll open one for tonight, but we’ll take the rest to the food bank in the morning.”</p><p> </p><p>Angela blustered off, but the grin didn’t fade from Jane’s face for a second. Not even when Maura used their joined hands to pull her around to face her properly. “Do you have to antagonize her?”</p><p> </p><p>“Me?” Jane pointed at herself with her free hand, eyes comically wide. “She started it, with all that holly-mistletoe business!”</p><p> </p><p>Maura let Jane’s hand drop almost regretfully, giving Jane a pointed look as she picked up two of the eggnog containers to put away. “I hope you know you’re drinking this.”</p><p> </p><p>“Sure, sure.” Jane waved her off, passing the other three jugs one by one to Maura to put away. “We’ll see.”</p><p> </p><p>She was enjoying her only glass of eggnog later that night when Angela was telling the story to Frankie, who proceeded to snort a mouthful of the stuff straight out of his nose. Jane raised her glass to him in a toast while he dripped his way into the kitchen. Tommy ambled up next to her, his arms full of TJ, who had clearly passed out despite insisting he was gonna ‘stay up til middle night!’ like everyone else. “What’s with the eggnog?”</p><p> </p><p>Jane coughed back a laugh, biting her lip to keep it in so she didn’t wake up the sleeping child drooling into her brother's shirt. “It’s a late Christmas gift for Ma.”</p><p> </p><p>“Oh, c’mon, Jane,” Tommy groaned, “You know she hates eggnog past Christmas day. What did she say last year?”</p><p> </p><p>“That it’s the same thing as decorating for Christmas before Thanksgiving,” Maura piped up from behind them. It only made Jane’s unrepentant grin widen. </p><p> </p><p>Tommy was doing that unconscious rocking thing Jane had seen every parent do while they were holding a child, but he paused momentarily to glance around the living room. “Hey, what time is it? Ma wanted me to make sure I had TJ close by for her New Years kiss.” He rolled his eyes, but they both knew he’d track Ma down for it anyway.</p><p> </p><p>“It’s eleven fifty eight, Tommy. You’d better find her.”</p><p> </p><p>“Yeah,” Jane gestured with her cup toward the kitchen, the last place she’d seen her mother fussing over Frankie. “TJ would hate to miss out on all that.”</p><p> </p><p>The dry comment earned a muffled laugh from Maura. When Jane turned dark eyes to her, Maura had one hand over her mouth to muffle the sound. Tommy was muttering yeah, yeah, so funny as he walked away, leaving Maura and Jane tucked into the same doorway they’d been in a week prior. At least this time, there was no poorly intentioned holly hanging over them. </p><p> </p><p>Jane hid her lingering smile in another sip of eggnog while Maura seemed to search for the right words to say. “I’m glad you were able to come back for the holidays,” she finally settled on, looking up at Jane with the same little half smile that had been making Jane’s heart flip all week.</p><p> </p><p>“Couldn’t keep me away,” she said roughly, downing the rest of the thick drink in an effort to hide the color creeping up her neck. </p><p> </p><p>When had things become so… tense between them? When did everything start to have another layer of meaning? When did -</p><p> </p><p>“Ten! Nine! Eight!”</p><p> </p><p>The large screen in the living room started to countdown as the ball dropped, and Jane couldn’t tear her eyes away from Maura. Without breaking eye contact, she fumbled her glass onto a decorative side table Maura would usually yell at her for putting things on, but Maura’s eyes were wide and her hands seemed to be coming up and suddenly someone bumped into Jane and it was all she could do to catch her hands on Maura’s hips to keep from knocking them both over.</p><p> </p><p>“Five! Four!”</p><p> </p><p>“Ma!” Jane whipped her head around to glare at her mother, who gave her an angelic expression.</p><p> </p><p>“Sorry, Janie! Gotta get to TJ for my New Years kiss!” She winked, nodding at Maura, who was steadily turning red.</p><p> </p><p>“Two!”</p><p> </p><p>“Jane,” Maura’s voice pulled her attention back, and Jane turned just in time to feel thin hands snake up to the back of her neck and pull her down.</p><p> </p><p>“<em>One!</em>”</p><p> </p><p>There was screaming on the television, screaming in the living room, even, but Jane barely heard it. All of her attention was devoted to the soft press of Maura’s lips against hers, an entirely different type of firework igniting behind her eyes, which had drifted closed. Maura’s fingers weaved into her hair, nails scratching gently at her scalp. The sensation made a small noise creep up the back of Jane’s throat, and she felt herself push deeper into the kiss, pressing into Maura like the world would collapse around her if she couldn’t deepen this kiss now. Maura let her in, and the first brush of Maura's tongue against hers made every nerve in her body feel like it was on fire.</p><p> </p><p>Distantly, she heard her family shouting in the background.</p><p> </p><p>She pulled away slowly, her fingers flexing against Maura’s hips. Maura’s eyelashes fluttered prettily and when her eyes opened, Jane was blown away by how dark they were. It took her a minute to disentangle herself completely, Maura’s hands still buried in her hair. </p><p> </p><p>“Happy New Year,” Maura’s fingers finally loosened, tucking a curl behind Jane’s ear in a move that made her shiver.</p><p> </p><p>“Happy New Year, Maur.” Jane husked, and it was only a catcall from across the room that made her finally break away with a rude hand sign raised in Frankie’s direction. </p><p> </p><p>The ribbing she received from her family for the rest of the night was made bearable by the frequent glances she caught Maura shooting her from various vantage points in the house. Jane took it upon herself to shoo her family out as quickly as possible, ignoring knowing looks from her brothers. Tommy was the first to bow out, TJ slumped over his shoulder leaving a growing drool stain on his shirt. He hugged Maura tightly, whispering something in her ear that made Maura flush and jab him hard in the side with her knuckles. He danced away from the attack, grinning as he waved goodbye and escaped into the night air.</p><p> </p><p>Frankie and Nina took a little longer to urge out, Frankie’s knowing smirk earning him a hard punch on the arm. Angela slipped out while Frankie whined at the front door about bruising, and it was with a mingled sense of relief and finality that Jane shut the front door and twisted the deadbolt home.</p><p> </p><p>Maura was lingering in the kitchen, running a cloth over the same patch of counter Jane knew for a fact she had cleaned only a few minutes before. Jane leaned against the edge of the island, watching Maura repetitively wipe for another moment before she reached out and stilled her hands with her own. </p><p> </p><p>“Hey,” she said gently, dipping her head until Maura met her eyes.</p><p> </p><p>Maura’s fingers twitched gently under hers, “Hi,” she returned softly.</p><p> </p><p>“So... “ Jane angled herself carefully against the counter, the edge of it digging against her hip. “We should, uh… we should talk about that kiss, shouldn’t we?”</p><p> </p><p>The fingers under her hand tensed on the towel and Maura looked up at her with wide, worried eyes. “If it’s not something you care to explore, Jane, it’s okay. We don’t have to -”</p><p> </p><p>“Hey, hey,” Jane pulled her hand off the towel, cradling it in hers. “I didn’t say that, okay? It just took me by surprise, that’s all, but the more I think about it, maybe it shouldn’t be surprising. Maybe it feels like something we’ve been sliding toward a long time.”</p><p> </p><p>The smile that spread over Maura’s face was worth every moment of nail biting anxiety Jane had stubbornly ignored for the last week. “In that case,” Maura took a step closer, until the front of her thighs brushed Jane’s, their joined hands tucked awkwardly between them. “I’d very much like to kiss you again.”</p><p> </p><p>Jane grinned widely, unable to hold it back. She let Maura’s hand go and it immediately retraced its route back up to her neck, already pulling to bring her in close. “I’d like that, too,” she said lowly, before Maura was pulling them together again.</p><p> </p><p>Where the kiss before had been new and urgent, this kiss came together like they were coming home. It was unhurried and thorough, Maura's fingers curled in the short hairs at the base of her neck, and Jane's free hand pressing boldly against the small of Maura's back. It was a kiss with intent, one that brought them back toward the doorway that had started the whole thing, back up the stairs, toward the bed and well into the night.</p><p> </p><p>It was early morning light and the soft slide of bare legs against her own that woke Jane the next day. The night before came back slowly, and with it, a broad smile. Jane rolled in bed only to receive a mouthful of Maura’s hair, effectively wiping the smile off her face at - ugh, six in the morning, again.</p><p> </p><p>To top it off, today would bring the inevitable conversation of, 'what are we doing, Jane? You live in Virginia, now,' and that was something Jane felt like she could live without.</p><p> </p><p>What she couldn't live without was the warm body currently stretching next to her. Maura groaned softly in satisfaction, her eyes still closed and her back arched deliciously. Jane darted an arm out to wrap under Maura’s back as she dropped back to the mattress, pulling her in close in a way she hadn't allowed herself to dream about before.</p><p> </p><p>"Morning," she mumbled roughly into Maura’s hair.</p><p> </p><p>"Good morning," came Maura’s voice, slightly breathless, almost surprised.</p><p> </p><p>Jane pressed herself deeper in, until her nose was tucked behind the shell of Maura’s ear. She hummed, inhaling the sweet scent of Maura’s shampoo and the warmer smell of Maura herself. It was addicting, and she nuzzled closer, making Maura laugh and wiggle away.</p><p> </p><p>All in all, she thought as she watched Maura move comfortably around the room a few minutes later, it seemed like the perfect start to a new year.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>You can find me on Tumblr! bandwidthlimit</p></blockquote></div></div>
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